Keeping Contact with Customers
Keeping contact with past, present and potential customers is key aspect of success
of any commercial entity. A lost customer means an irreversible harm to an organization’s
status. The word ‘customer’ in its wide sense does not only include a buyer, purchaser
or client, but also every person in contact with a company, including partners,
suppliers, sellers, retailers, distributors and trade associations.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a combination of practices, policies and
strategies employed by an organization to unify its customer interactions and provide
a means to track customer information. Employees in different company departments
can enter, store and access the information about customers and interaction with
them. Typical CRM goals are to improve customer services and to use customer contact
information for targeted marketing.
CRM Software
Companies use CRM software to track and organize contact information about its current
and prospective customers. Several software modules are possible depending on the
business model. We can help to design and develop CRM applications for different
processes, as below:
Front office operations: direct dealings with customers through
online services, email and phone calls. Employees can use the data to retrieve important
customer information like contact histories, products bought by customers and customer
queries.
Back office operations: activities that support the front office,
such as order processing, billing, payment processing, as well as advertising and
marketing.
External operations: interactions with business partners, vendors,
distributors, retailers and other stakeholders.
Analytical operations: using the CRM data to plan present and future
strategies, marketing campaigns, revenue and profits.
CRM thus is not just a technology but rather a complete, customer-centric approach
to an organization’s attitude and beliefs in dealing with its customers.